Wendy Gauthier – Chef/Owner, Chef Chic Café, Personal Chef & Caterer
Chef Wendy Gauthier won the Tucson Iron Chef championship in July 2019 — a first for a female chef in Tucson — which gave her a confidence-boosting nudge to open a brick and mortar Chef Chic Café, in addition to remaining a personal chef and caterer.
Growing up in northern Virginia just outside Washington, D.C., she graduated from The Culinary Institute of America and came to Tucson shortly after, working at Canyon Ranch and the Flying V at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort before starting Chef Chic in 2001.
Chef Chic has been honored with many awards: The Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Arizona Daily Star’s 40 under 40, twice the Arizona Small Business Association’s Southern Arizona Smart Inspiring Enterprise (SASIE) Award for best customer service, United States Personal Chef Association’s (USPCA) personal chef of the year for all of North America, National Association of Women Business Owner’s Tucson businesswoman of the year, Inside Tucson Business’ Up and Comers award and the Arizona Daily Star’s Readers’ Choice Award for best caterer.
In 2016, Chef Wendy co-authored the book “Behind Their Brand: Chef Edition Vol. 1.”
